@Bryan Blancke   go to the county website if there are address's look them up and see who actually owns them.. if your seller is listed as the owner on the tax rolls .. then you have  a good chanceland in many parts of the mid west if your talking building lots  have zero or Negative value.when you can buy a nice home for 80k lot and all..

We live in a market where the current purchase prices vs market rents means we would have negative cash flow.

. $315,000 equity, opportunity value 10%, Additional monthly cost $2625/month.With all that equity tied up in the property you have negative cash flow of $2820/year before any other expense deductions.

There were times the expenses like new roofs, furnaces, and damages, may have gone over the $100 a month for a property that I had budgeted, but I had enough money in Escrow to cover those properties, and so I never was left with a negative amount in my bank account.  

This is an interesting article which takes a look at the statistical correlations behind property valuations.

Is it a negative to buy a rental right next to a high school?

Any stories on positive or negative experiences with property managers in the Newark area would be greatly appreciated as well.

So find neighborhoods that fit your profile and meet the statistics you want and hit every single one via EDDM.When you send out your mailings, either provide something of value for their response code - like "Mention CP2202 to get a free home valuation" or put a small number in the corner of your mailing.

And you would be loosing money (equity) if you sold at lower price than you paid just to get out of a negative cash flow situation.  

I ended up calling all of my negative accounts and asked them to remove the derogatory item completely from my report if I paid them in full.